Selling Kimbo Slice

In an editing bay tucked away somewhere in Las Vegas, Kimbo
Slice’s future has been decided.

Slice, who’s real name is Kevin Ferguson, was one of 16
heavyweights selected to compete on Season 10 of “The Ultimate
Fighter,” which debuts Wednesday at 10 p.m. EST/PST on Spike
TV.

The cast includes a diverse group of athletes, including an IFL
champion, four former NFL footballers and three heavyweights who’ve
already clocked time in the Octagon. But it’s Slice, who has
already commanded six-figure paydays and starred in nationally run
TV commercials as himself, who will be scrutinized with every
interaction, remark and eyebrow-raise he makes.

Slice’s time in the cage is his own, whether he falls flat on his
face in his first bout, like his embarrassing 14-second loss to
Seth
Petruzelli last October, or picks off opponents like he did at
the start of his short but well-publicized career. Editing won’t
help or hinder either way because performances don’t lie.

Outside the cage, the editors have a delicate task on their hands.
Marketing a man who became the Internet’s boogeyman by taking on
all comers in random Miami backyards can be a tricky proposition.
Expose too much vulnerability and you stand to tarnish the image.
Afterall, the boogeyman isn’t all that scary with the lights turned
on.

In Slice’s case, he’s genuinely a nice guy when you keep him away
from backyards and cages. At the UFC Fan Expo in July, Slice
politely admonished a reporter for not readily giving up his seat
to a female journalist, but managed to charm the throng of writers
that surrounded him while he did it.

The 35-year-old fighter believes it’s this dichotomy that has won
him so many admirers.

“What people know about me in general when I fight, I come to
fight. You gonna knock me out, I’m gonna knock you out,” said Slice
during the July interview. “That’s what I’m coming to do. I’m not
trying to be cool with you right now. I’m not trying to be your boy
right now. Right now, it’s me and you and that’s my mentality when
I fight. People can relate to that, because when I’m done and out
of that cage, I’m back having a beer with this guy, sitting down
with this guy, just back to being me.”

Fame hit Slice fast and hard in 2008, after online videos
exploiting his street-fighting escapades catapulted him into a
multi-fight deal with the now-deceased EliteXC. Slice appeared on
CBS’s “Saturday Night Fights” two times, garnering nearly 14
million viewers combined. The nation was enthralled by Slice’s
bare-bones toughness. Kids started dressing up like him on
Halloween, and Slice became the second fighter ever featured on the
cover of “ESPN The Magazine,” behind former UFC champion Chuck
Liddell.

Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Fame hit Slice fast and
hard.

When Slice’s contract went up for grabs in June, the UFC reportedly
didn’t hesitate, quickly restructuring TUF’s 10th season to feature
heavyweights only (some called in without the formal auditions),
while sending a handful of disappointed middleweights and light
heavyweights home.

Slice will be the first bona fide celebrity to compete on the
series, though the father of six figures himself more of an
everyman.

“People kind of dig me and like me the way they do because I can
relate to that guy right there,” said Slice. “He goes to Walmart
and shops; I’m in Walmart, too. He sees me and we talk. I’m in
Winn-Dixie just like he’s in Winn-Dixie. I don’t consider myself no
big-time -- you know what I’m saying? Nothing like that.”

Slice also doesn’t take himself too seriously.

“I can’t be phony of who I am, you know what I’m saying? I ain’t
got no image. I’m me. This is what you get,” he said. “With these
cameras here, without the cameras here –- I’m me. I don’t try to be
something I’m not.”

Demico
Rogers, one of Slice’s housemates, described the fighter as “a
giant, scary cage-fighting teddy bear.”

“I think that this show is going to help him a lot, because
everyone has their own idea about Kimbo Slice, but this show is
going to show that he’s a real person, that he has feelings, he has
children, he has the fiancée, he loves life, he loves kids,” said
Rogers. “He does charity. He’s just a really good guy.”

Are fans ready for the softer side of Slice? That’s not something
Slice and his longtime manager and high school friend Mike Imber
worry about.

“I’m not concerned about how he will be portrayed ‘cause however he
acted on the show is who he is,” Imber said in a text. “We’ve never
hid anything about him thus far, so I‘m pretty sure you’ll see the
same guy you’ve been seeing.”

Imber said his friend and client has always been true to himself.
It wasn’t always the case that Slice would walk into a room and all
eyes would gravitate to him, said Imber, but he’s not surprised it
has come to be the norm.

“He’s definitely always done things his way,” said Imber, “but you
always knew there was something special about him.”

If it were his perceived fighting skills that launched his
popularity, Slice’s sun would have already risen and set after his
sobering loss to Petruzelli. It’s Slice’s journey from pauper to
phenomenon, and where it goes next, that has captivated fans. And
Slice, his Brutus beard and entourage of assorted characters
notwithstanding, is fascinating to watch on that journey.

“There’s a drive for something and I guess I’m still searching for
that inner me, I’m still searching for something, so until I find
it, until my fight is done, I’m gonna fight. It’s my passion,”
Slice told reporters in July.

On Wednesday night, Imber said he and Slice have plans to go play
paintball and throw a BBQ before they sit down to watch a night of
fights with the Miami-based brood.

Whether or not Slice’s intangible star quality will be magnified or
diminished by what fans see on that night and for the next 12 weeks
remains to be seen.

If Imber has concerns, he isn’t showing it.

“As far as marketability, you never know –- maybe he will be opened
to a whole new set of opportunities,” said Imber.

Slice concurs.

“I’ll leave that to the crowd to decide,” said Slice. “I’ll leave
that to the fans.”